Faulkner Hospital is seeking to expand its inpatient facilities. Here’s what we know.
If approved, would be the first addition of its kind for the nonprofit hospital in more than 40 years.
To meet growing demands, Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital is proposing a 78-inpatient bed expansion to its Jamaica Plain facility, a project that, if approved, would be the first addition of its kind for the nonprofit hospital in more than 40 years.
In plans filed with the Boston Planning and Development Agency last week, hospital officials say the five-story, 98,000-square-foot wing would also be the home to additional radiology equipment — including a new MRI — a post-procedure recovery unit, an outpatient endoscopy clinic, and clinical support space.
The 1153 Centre St. facility’s narrow footprint currently makes it difficult to usher in the new technology, filings say.
And in recent years, as the hospital has sought to treat more patients at a lower cost by transferring them from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Emergency Department to Faulkner Hospital, space restraints, again, have proved burdensome, the plans show. Patients in that situation can be accepted only 41 percent of the time because of the current capacity limitations, officials say.
“[Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital’s] inpatient facilities have not been expanded since 1976, and currently limit its ability to meet patient demand,” a Project Notification Form says. “BWFH continuously operates at high levels of occupancy during the weekdays, limiting its ability to accept additional patients who may be better served in the Hospital’s community setting rather than in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area or other urban hospital settings.”
In addition to the buildout, the hospital also wants to add three levels, or 171 spaces, to its East Parking Garage, along with a pedestrian bridge to connect it to the hospital.
Furthermore, plans detail a proposal to replace a parking lot with a new West Parking Garage, a larger structure that would house up to 952 vehicles. The existing garage would be demolished and replaced with a 91-spot parking lot, and a new driveway would connect the replacement garage to Allandale Street.
“The new garage will increase parking capacity on campus, while its sustainable roof with solar panels will extend the longevity of the garage and improve the hospital’s sustainability,” plans say.
If approved, the expansion would be quite sizable for the historic community hospital.
Faulkner Hospital, which first opened its doors in 1903, is owned by Partners HealthCare System Inc. and houses 171 inpatient beds, with services that include internal medicine, pulmonary, cardiology, psychiatry, orthopedics, gastroenterology, and general and gastrointestinal surgery.
Officials say the proposed new inpatient area “will be designed to meet new regulatory and practice standards which provide additional space to increase patient safety and dedicated family zones to support comfortable visitation and communication with visitors, patients, and providers.”
The post-procedure recovery area would allow the hospital to care for patients without admitting them to an inpatient bed, thereby boosting its capacity for other patients, according to the filing.
The hospital anticipates starting construction on the West Garage replacement and the inpatient bed expansion next year, with work finishing after 20 months and 24 months, respectively. The East Parking Garage project is scheduled to begin in 2024 and will last 18 months, plans say.
The BPDA is currently accepting comments on the proposal through Aug. 26.
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